Queen Creek Olive Oil

As we do every Thursday evening, we headed downtown after work for our weekly date night. We must have started this tradition, oh, probably seven years ago when we became regular Cinema La Placita attendees.

This past Thursday, we had dinner over at Maynards in the Historic Train Depot (very good, by the way and they seemed to be having a pretty good evening). Afterwords we stopped in the shop of the same name next store and were pleasantly surprised to see quite a number of local items for sale, including Queen Creek Olive Oil. Since we had been planning to try it, we picked up a bottle.

Now if you buy olive oil based just on the price, don't bother seeking out Queen Creek; it'll set you back around $15 for 1/2 a liter. We didn't mind the cost since we tend to use oil rather sparingly and this money goes directly back into our community. So how is it? It's very good, but it's a lot different than other olive oils I've had over the years (lately the California Olive Oil sold in Trader Joe's). Initially it has a very mild flavor, but the finish is a bit peppery; definately a keeper and well worth getting.

Now if you want to try it out, we've seen it in a few palces around Tucson: ASDM, Maynards, Local Harvest Marketplace, and possibly a few other places. Or if you live further afield, you can order from their website (http://www.queencreekolivemill.com/).

Where in Tucson?

Ok, here's another shot from my most recent visit to downtown Tucson. Do you know where these stairs are?

I'll give you a hint: near the end of a bridge.

And that's the only hint I'll give out. So get out there and see if you can find the location of these stairs.

I took the photo for the attention to detail. Here, in the most pedestrian of places, the builder has added tiles for no other reason than they look nice. There is no structural reason, no safety reason, no reason at all to go to the extra expense and trouble to put tiles on the risers of these steps. Most places would be happy to have the risers just be plain anonymous concrete, but not here. A this location, most of the buildings are made to stand out (oops, another hint) which adds just a bit of something to the atmosphere.

Happy hunting.

Downtown Tucson

Last night I went down to downtown Tucson to try to get some interesting photos. Now I know that a lot of people worry about going downtown. They worry about the crime. They worry about the parking. In short they just don't know anything about downtown Tucson.

As for crime: I've never had any trouble. Never even seen trouble in the downtown area. And I've wandered pretty much every street in the downtown area. At all times of the day and night. I've been downtown at 8am. I've been downtown at midnight. And nothing has ever happened.

As for parking: another failed argument. I've never had trouble finding parking. Never. And everytime I've been able to find free parking. Yep, 100% free parking, right on the street. You just have to know where to look. On weekends and evenings it's easy. All street parking is free after 5pm. Other times it can be a bit more difficult. But it is there. Of course, you might have to walk a block or two more. But, for me that's not a big deal.

Finally, I did take some photos while I was downtown. For the most part I followed the Presidio trail (the turquoise line painted on the sidewalk--you can get a guide at the visitors center), and was quite surprised by the number of things going on late Saturday afternoon. Armory park had a family freindly event. Maynard's Kitchen in the depot was bustling. People were out and about. Lots of restaurants were open and busy. Quite a chnage since when I first started heading into the downtown area.

So about the photo? Where is that mural? That's for you to figure out. All I'll say is that it's one of the easier ones to spot in the downtown area.

Shop your farmer's market

How would you like to get great produce and for less than you'll find in the supermarket? I thought so. The secret is Shop at your local farmer's market.

We stop in from time to time (almost all of our produce comes through Tucson CSA), and I can say that they have some great deals. A few Saturdays ago we stopped in the Farmer's market in St. Phillips plaza to check out what was available. Now the Saturday market isn't as well established as the one they hold on Sunday, so the number of vendors was a bit thin. Even so, there was a lot to choose from.

How about organic oranges and grapefruit (just picked that morning) for 50 cents each? Each orange probably weighed close to a pound so I don't think you can beat that price. And the taste. Wow, were they sweet! You can definitely tell they had ripened on the tree.

Tomatoes? Yes. Heirloom tomatoes were available for about $2/lb. More than in the store, but if you're like me, you wouldn't take a store tomato if it were free -- no flavor. So $2 is more than fair.

An even better farmer's market is held on Tuesday mornings down at the Community food bank. Here it's all produce (no arts/crafts). When we stopped in we picked up carrots, eggs, broccoli, spinach, and cauliflower. Cost? Under $10. Taste? Great. And the best part, knowing that your money goes to support someone in your community.

So to get you started on, check out the link on the title. It'll take you to a listing of Arizona farmer's market. Find one close by, and stop in. You won't regret it.

Local Harvest Marketplace

I read in the paper about the plight of the recently opened Local Harvest Marketplace. Right now it's on the verge of closing due to lack of clientele, which would be areal shame since it is trying to fill such an important niche. That of truly local and organic food at reasonable prices.

We have stopped in, and the prices are good, and they have a pretty good selection of local foods, including, at the time, the rare Black Phoenix date. These are probably one of the best dates you can find, sweet and smooth, with a melt-in-your mouth texture. Not gritty and coarse like some other dates. The Black Phoenix dates are from a mutation that occurred in the 1930s. Not many people handle them because they are fairly fragile, meaning they don't pack and ship well. (Like all the food you buy at the supermarket, the most important quality is the how well they ship; taste never comes into the equation).

So if you're serious about buying local, stop in and show your support, by purchasing some local produce from a local business.

Animal sightings in Tucson

Tonight we were pretty lucky -- we saw our neighborhood bobcat again. Right around dinner time our cat, came racing through the house with her tail all puffed up and ran to the back window. We looked out to see what all the commotion was about and there was a full grown bobcat walking through our yard!

Naturally, I went to grab the camera for a few quick photos, but by the time I was able to get it out, the bobcat had moved on. Drat! Even so, it was a great thrill to see it wander through.

This isn't the first time we've seen a bobcat in our yard. I think we've seen one possibly a half dozen times in the last couple of years, and it's always exciting. I like to think that it is the same cat, but I really don't know for sure. We never get to see them for more than 30 seconds to a minute, so it's really hard to determine if they have any distinguishing marks.

As an aside, right as I'm writing this, I can hear a western screech owl out in our front yard. We've seen these little guys (and gals, presumably) several times, and often hear them at night. They have a very distinctive call, a Hoo-hoo-hoo call that descends in pitch with the hoos coming more rapidly. The best description I can give is that of a ping pong ball bouncing on a table. Once you hear one, you'll know.

Now while we live outside of Tucson (at least the city limits), we aren't in that rural of an area, so regardless of where you live, you might want to keep an eye out for wildlife. It's there if you're watching.

A Raisin in the Sun at Arizona Theatre Company

Just recently we headed downtown to the Temple of Music and Art to see the play A raisin in the Sun. It's a play about the dreams and hopes of a black family living in South side Chicago during the 1950s. The family is about to come into $10,000 from an insurance policy and various members have differing ideas as to how to use the money to improve their lot in life. The oldest son wants to purchase a liquor store, believe that by being a small business owner he'll be able to get ahead. His wife and mother believe that buying a house is the right way to go.

Now I won't tell you what happens, except to say that this is a play packed with emotional drama and a bit of gritty reality for the times. From start to finish, the play lasted a bit over two hours and we left the theatre commenting on the wonderful performances by the entire cast. Like really good plays, after a short while you stopped noticing that you were watching actors and instead it seemed as though you were watching the lives of people from years ago.

As I've said elsewhere, the immediacy of a play just can't be duplicated in film. It is truly something that must be experienced in person. So, if you can, I'd suggest you head on down and see for yourself. You won't be disappointed.